With a smile
by Muku kawaii
Summary: Set in an alternate modern world where Natsu had to move to Hargeon from Magnolia about 8 years ago, but now he was back and was overly surprised to learn that best friend is engaged. Though he is happy for Gray but there is a little problem regarding the bride. If only things were a little easier. . . . A story about love triangle.
1. Chapter 1

_With a smile_

 _by Muku kawaii_

 _Chapter 1_

Dusk has arrived by the time Natsu arrived the Magnolia airport. The place was packed with tourist and visitors who had arrived there to meet their family and friends over the holidays. The honking of the cars and cabs was unbearable at the moment. The place was a little more crowded than usual, maybe because of the fact that it was Christmas Eve and Magnolia was quite famous for its beautiful Christmas tree located at the centre of the city.

Natsu clasped his cold palms against each other and blew air through them. His warm breath turned into the white fog. It was really cold and the snow, though really beautiful, wasn't helping much. The salmon haired lad had always hated the cold season. He preferred summer, warm fuzzy summer.

He took his cell phone out of his red jacket and proceeded to make a call as he walked towards the exit and out of the airport. The person he was calling did not answer the call right way. The pinkette was quite annoyed. A cab driver offered a ride but the lad ushered him to go since his friend was going to pick him up.

 _Where is he?_ Natsu thought as he called the previous number again. This time the person answered.

 _"Hello?"_ The receiver asked.

 _"Hello my ass"_ Natsu shot back _"Where the hell are you?"_

 _"Oh it's you Natsu"_ The person at the other side of the call started _"We have just arrived. Come over to the parking lot. It's quite crowded so we can't go any further"_

Natsu signed. He made his way towards the dimly lit parking lot.

The place had numerous street lights but only a few of them worked. The pinkette decided the stand next to the entry of the parking lot. The lights were bright near the entrance whereas the rest of the parking lot had staggering light.

He waited for a while longer. And more. And more. Now he was annoyed. A vein popped in his head. _"Where in the name of hell are they"_ Natsu screamed.

" _Here I am_ " a cold yet soft voice from behind him replied. Natsu turned around and looked at the source of the voice. A goofy smile appeared on his lips. The boy in front of him was in fact the same age as him. The latter was wearing a white turtle neck with dark blue jacket. His raven colored bangs were partially covering his scar over his left eye (the scar he got during his childhood when he went hiking with Natsu).

" _Gray_ " Natsu grinned and walked over towards his childhood best friend and punched him on his left cheek. " _That's for being late_ " he said while showing off his sharp fangs. Gray had really missed the pink haired nuisance but that didn't mean he was going to get away with it. So he himself started throwing a few almost playful punches which were also reciprocated. They were soon on the ground while fight.

To the pedestrians it seemed quite absurd. Two handsome 20 something year olds tackling each other and throwing insults while also laughing in front of the parking lot of an international airport.

" _Mama what are they doing?"_ A little girl asked as she pulled her mother's hand for attention. " _Oh nothing honey_ " The mother replied as she pulled her daughter away. To her the scene of the men were fighting was not a pleasant sight for her daughter.

After a few more punches, kicks and insults the two stopped their heartwarming reunion after 8 years.

 _"We better go before Gajeel gets angry_ " Gray stated as he patted his jacket to remove the dust. Natsu froze at the mention of his name. Gray checked his cell phone and noticed 3 missed calls from the said person. Gray soon realized Natsu's condition and simply chuckled as the colors were drained from the latter's face. " _It's okay he already forgave you"_

 _"How do you know that"_ The salmon haired boy said. Not long after a Matte Black Audi A5 pulled over a near the distance. The door to the driver's seat opened and a man appeared. He was about the same age as the other two. The young man had long, spiky black hair, which were kept slicked back, revealing his forehead with the help of a brown bandana. He had blood red eyes with slitted dark pupils. The man wore a black leather jacket with a green shirt along with a pair of black jeans. It was easy to tell that the man was quite fond of piercings as he had a lot of them. He might seem a little intimidating to others but his friends were not afraid to him.

Except to Natsu at the moment _._

 _"Salamander"_ The man referred to salmon gulped. When he walked towards him with his hands inside his pockets. "Oh'-h Gajeel long time no see its grea-" Natsu said trying to find the right words but was cut off mid sentence by Gajeel.

" _Shut up Salamander. I have forgiven you for stealing my pudding that night 8 years ago_ " the dark headed boy said. Soon relief washed over Natsu " _That's amazi_ -" He was again unable to complete his sentence as a hand quickly smacked his head. " _That's for keeping me waiting for so long_ " Gajeel said as he flashed his teeth and walked towards the car. Soon a cold snow ball made contact with this neck as he turned around to see Natsu standing with some ice in his hands and a toothy grin over his face as he took his battle stance. " _Hah you are a goner_ " Gajeel said as he smirked while taking his own combat posture for their snowball fight.

But before things could get ugly Gray stepped in. " _We should get home before dinner everyone is waiting"_ and that was all he needed to say. Natsu raced past Gajeel and yelled _"SHOTGUN"_ as he sat inside the car next to the driver's seat. Gajeel blinked while Gray simply laughed.

Gray turned towards the now-back-to-normal Gajeel. " _Get his bags will you. I'll be driving_ " Gray spoke as he himself jumped passed Gajeel to avoid doing the chorus. The dark haired realized that he was alone and the other two were inside the car. He sighed and took the bags with him.

During their trip to Gray's house Natsu had probably asked over a million questions. Erza and Jellal were dating and so were Mira and Laxus. _"Gajeel has his eyes on Levi you know_ " Gray stated while keeping an eye on the road. This earned a fit of guffawing from the rosette while the pitch haired man in the back seat turned crimson red. " _And I got engaged_ " Gray stated as he took a turn and stopping his car in front of a huge white mansion. But Natsu did not notice it, he was too stupefied after hearing the news he didn't notice his best friend's ring until now. " _YOU WHAT? TO WHOM?DO I KNOW HER_ " Natsu yelled at the top of his lungs.

The trio had stepped out of the vehicle and are currently making their way towards the trunk as Gray spoke up " _She is inside right now and I wanted to surprise you and no you don't know her_ " and turned his gaze towards the doorway up the stairs when his face lit up " _There she is"_ as he walked to the top of the stairs and hugged the women as Natsu followed his trail. Onyx eyes met coffee brown and Natsu's whole world stopped.

She was beautiful. Her golden locks were pulled up in a ponytail and her grey neckline T shirt dress looked splendid on her highlighting her curves. Her lips were pale pink. She looked breath taking.

Just like she did three years ago. 

* * *

**Author's Note**

 _Fairy tail completely Belongs to Hiro Mashima (I'm a great fan of his work btw) but this fan-fiction is my little idea.I had this idea for so long so I decided "what the hell" and wrote this. Hope you guys liked this chapter. This is the first chapter of my fanfiction._


	2. Chapter 2

_Chapter 2_

 _And this is how they met_

 _by muku kawaii_

Sting can sometimes be really annoying. The flaxen happened to call Natsu at around 9:30 pm saying that he had broken up with his girlfriend of four months and he wanted to visit the club. When Natsu answered the call he could not understand half of the stuff his friend was saying and he was way too tired to even ask him twice. He didn't even realize that he had subconsciously agreed to join his friend for a night out in the club, but now it was too late.  
"Oh thank you so much Natsu san" the blond replied from the other side of the call. Natsu could feel that Sting had a grin over his face at this time. The boy signed and rubbed his temples, he knew it would be impossible for him to get out of this. He decided to give up altogether.  
"You win. Where are we going though?" Natsu inquired as he made his picked up his keys and made his way towards the door. Granted Natsu was tired but he could really use some fun time now since his father was out-of-town for a business tour and his servants had the day off. He had already fed Happy his usual fish flavored cat food and the feline was currently curled up on the sofa.

While Sting had already reached "Sabertooth, as usual, Natsu san" with that he disconnected the call.  
Natsu didn't expect the place to be this crammed on a Wednesday night. Maybe it was so because of the festival that was to be held the next day. Tourists from all around the world come to Hargeon during the Aki-Sakura season to enjoy the Blossom Festival.  
But it didn't take Natsu much time to locate the blond. Sting was enjoying a glass Rum and being accompanied by a group of four ladies. Natsu rolled his eyes and walked over towards the playboy.

"It seems like you are enjoying yourself and I can go back" Natsu noted as he gained the attention of his friend. Sting, on the other hand, flashed him a wide smile showing off his fangs and pulled the salmon haired boy to sit down. "Come on Natsu san. Don't be a killjoy, you should join us" the blond gestured towards Natsu's left, to a woman with dark brown hair who seemed she was interested in the guy based on her change in posture with her legs crossed and her body slanted towards him. But before she could practically count the change in his pockets, Natsu left the spot. He knew he can't leave the blond since he would be too drunk to drive back home so he decided to enjoy a few drinks at the bar. "Orga," he said as he took a seat "the usual". The bartender had unusual green hair and pale skin. He happened to know Natsu for a long time so he was familiar with his preferences.

Natsu was fine with not talking to anyone else throughout the night but only enjoy his drink and text his friends back in Magnolia. It had been almost fifteen minutes before he felt a light tap on his shoulders. Assuming it was his friend Natsu spun around "Oh fina-" but he stopped mid-sentence. The person standing in front of him wasn't Sting, it was a woman.

She had blonde shoulder length hair let down styled with braids on both of the sides. Her A-line Neck Sleeveless crimson short dress hugged her body and emphasized her curves. While her black silhouette shoes and her cream purse showed elegance. Her eyes were of a warm russet shade. Then there were her lips adorned with peach shade. A few seconds have passed before she spoke up.  
"Would you mind if I sat next to you?" her lips spoke to which the boy nodded as she took a seat to his right. A lot of ladies have asked to accompany him but he politely declined, but not this time. The lady ordered a glass of Sangria and proceeds to check her cell phone. Natsu looked at her from the corner of his eyes as he took a sip from his beer. It was clear she was wound up about something as she signed a lot.

"Tough night" It was Natsu who started the conversation. He laid his beer on the counter and the blonde looked over to give her attention after receiving her drink. "Yes," she started "My friend left me here and went out with her boyfriend. She did say she would be returning real quick but I know she won't be back any time soon" She signed. Natsu chuckled "Why didn't you go back?" he asked. To which the girl replied "I could not leave my friend behind. And she has the keys so I can't leave" She huffed "What about you?" She noticed that the boy was all alone which was the reason she decided to talk to him.

"Well, my idiotic friend over there" he pointed across the room towards Sting flirting with yet another girl "dragged me here. He had just broke up and he wanted a rebound or something and I was the only one dumb enough to receive his call" He finished.  
"Quite a friend you got there" the blonde said. "Oh, I almost forgot." She exclaimed as she extended her palm towards him "I'm Lucy Heartfillia. Nice to meet you". The boy took her hand "Great to meet you, Luce. I'm Natsu. Natsu Dragneel"  
Lucy giggled at the new nickname he had given her. "So Natsu san it seems like we have pretty unusual friends"

"Just call me Natsu" He stated "It does seem that way. So..wanna make some new friends?" and with that their friendship began. They talked all night. It turned out Lucy's father in fact knew Natsu's dad because of their business relations. Lucy also informed him that she was originally from Crocus and she was in Hargeon to attend her cousin's wedding.  
"They actually met here in Hargeon" Lucy said as she finished describing her cousins' love story. This whole while Natsu listened to her, he liked the way she would randomly get irritated about various things and smile at the little things he told her.  
Lucy found it rather strange for Natsu to have a cat with blue fur whereas Natsu was kind of confused about the blonde's white dog with an orange nose. They had completely lost track of time. Natsu had even forgotten about his friend.

For Sting, the night had not been quite rewarding. He had flirted with over six and kissed over three women but all of them were simply mess due to the liquor. He decided that it was time to call it a night and went on to look for his salmon haired friend. He soon spotted the strawberry near the counter talking to someone. By this time the club had really fewer people. He finally reached the pair and swung one of his arms around his friend while the other he extended towards the lady "Good evening Mi Lady" He said when he held out her palm and initiated a kiss on the back. Lucy blushed at the gesture whereas Natsu had a kind of irritate look over his face. Sting took the seat next to Lucy, towards her right as he looked over to Natsu. "Ano Natsu san. It was really rude of you to not introduce me to Aphrodite herself " Sting whined. He did decide to give up but maybe seventh time could be a charm.

"I just didn't want you to disturb us" Natsu shrugged while his friend glared at him. "Or becuase Natsu san you like her" Sting intially idea to embarrass the pinkette caused Lucy, who was taking a sip from her drink, to almost choke on it.  
"Maybe I do" The lad replied with his unusual thinking honesty as he handed the girl a tissue. Lucy's face was visibly scarlet whereas Sting's eyes were almost bulged out. It was rather unlike Natsu to express his feelings out loud. This gave the playboy the perfect opportunity to have fun with the situation.  
He slowly shifted himself towards Lucy and rested his arms on the back of her chair. The blonde shifted her gaze from platinum black eyes to look towards those of azure. She watched his movements as leaned towards her right ear and whispered "You know your lips look lonely. Would they like to mine? " It was loud enough for Natsu. As for Lucy, a deep shade of crimson had appeared across her face. But before she could defend herself Natsu was on his feet as he removed Sting's arm and addressed him "Oye Casanova leave her alone " as Sting stood up.

Sting knew what he had gotten himself into and it was going to be knew he must have touched a nerve. The flaxen showed his devilish grin as he shrugged at the pinkette. He knew this would piss the other one off. And he was right. He received a blow on top of his head and he resoluted to return the favor with a punch to his opponent. He missed this Natsu san. Due to work and stuff they were not able to fight as much as they used to. To the others, it might seem kind of absurd but to them it was common.  
Lucy was jumped from her chair and was about to grip a hold of either of their arms when Orga yelled out "Leave them, they are always fighting. Just give it a few minutes, they would be back to normal" as he continued cleaning the glasses. It was then Lucy noticed that the duo were laughing while exchanging a few maybe friendly punches.  
She sat back down on her looked around the room to see the amount of people. She checked her wristwatch and realized that it was almost midnight and she should better head back home. She collected her purse and walked towards the exit but not before waving a goodbye towards the two bickering men. It seemed like neither of them noticed her, to which she sweatdropped, and left the club. Too bad she wanted to get a certain someones number.  
It didn't take much time for Natsu to completely knock out the blond and run towards the exit when he noticed lady was gone. He finally spotted her walking when he called out.

"Luce. Wait for me" He called out as the lady turned around. Natsu jogged towards her as she stood there.  
"Hey, I thought you guys were fighting" Lucy questioned.  
"He is asleep on the counter" Natsu replied with a straight face while leaving out a few details.  
"Oh" was the blonde's reaction. "Anyway I have to go now"  
"But you said you didn't have a car" Natsu questioned. He remembered her saying something about her friend taking it.  
"Yes but I guess I could call a cab or something" She responded and pulled out a phone when Natsu cut in.  
"I can drop ya if ya want." He suggested.  
I

t was pretty late and the cab has been canceling on her for the past few minutes so she thought that she could walk through the distance. Her apartment wasn't that far and she remembered the directions. She wanted to decline the offer as she didn't want to trouble Natsu. She could walk back and she is capable of kicking some ass as well  
"You better not think about walking" Natsu interrupted her train of thought.  
Was he able to read her mind or something?  
"It's okay Natsu I can go back" But her protests reached a deaf ear. Natsu had already pulled over his Silver-black AM Vanquish. There was no way she could refuse him as he is just too difficult to argue with. Lucy signed and sat down.  
The ride was pretty comforting for Lucy. They talked all through it. Lucy would give the directions and Natsu would joke about random things Happy did. To be honest Lucy was relieved that Natsu offered to take her home. The street was completely dark and empty. She could occasionally see some drunks though. The avenues were faintly lit.

Apparently, autumn nights and creepy dudes do not mix together.

They finally reached her residence. It was a two story with red walls and a dark brown sloping roof with two chimneys and two dormer windows. It seemed kind of old-fashioned but to Lucy, this place meant a lot.  
"My Mom used to live here before she met dad" She clued-up to Natsu.  
"It's really gorgeous though" Natsu remarked as he watched Lucy step out of the vehicle.  
This was his chance he should ask for her number. Maybe even ask for a date. Mayb-

"Thanks for the ride Natsu" Lucy said as she turned around and walked towards the door. But she didn't enter the building. She reached into her purse and summoned a paper and pen and scrambled something. All this while all Natsu could do was look at her as she walked towards him and leaned into the frame of the cars open window. She tossed a card towards his direction. He looked towards the piece and realized it was a number. Her number.

He looked up towards her to find her back towards him. She kept back the pen inside the purse.  
"Call me when you would like to ask me out,okay?" The blonde said as she smiled towards him.  
"Will do" was all Natsu replied as he beamed towards her as she closed the door.  
Natsu secured the card inside the gloves compartment and drove off.

Lucy walked inside her room. The space was cold and empty. Her friend has not yet returned but she did not worry about the fact since she happened to know the relation those two had. She wandered through the kitchen towards the scullery and took a glass of water. She reached into her cupboard and took out a pair of blue and pink nightdress. The pink dye reminded her of a certain someone. The one with the similar shade of hair.  
The ring of her cell phone brought her back into her dining room. The number was not listed in her contacts yet she picked it up.

The voice on the other side made her heart skip a beat "So are you free tomorrow" She knew who it belonged to.  
"I am" She pulled the chair and sat down "What do you have in mind?"  
Lucy was able to hear the sound of the door being opened and shut meaning he had just reached home.  
"I was hoping to take you on a date. Remember the Firworks and Blooms carnival?" Natsu asked and received a simple hmm in reply "Would you like to go with me." He wished that she would agree to go. He really wanted to show her and enjoy the time. He waited a few seconds when finally he received a reply. "Yes I would love to " And that was the answer that made a sub-conscious smile appear on his lips.  
"So I would be there just about say…. 4?" The boy asked.  
"That is perfect" was all Lucy replied. She happened to have the whole day off the next day and she didn't even have any plans for it.

And now she could not wait for the day to begin.

* * *

 _ **Author's Note:**_

Aye aye aye. So this is how they met.I have divided this into two parts.

One dealing with how they met and the other of how they got separated.

I would post the second part later.

Thanks for reading. Hope you guys liked it. ^_^

Do leave your comments down below.


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